Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The effort to build a skate park in Palouse is zeroing in on a location.
Two weeks ago, the skate park committee, led by Aaron Flansburg, met and decided to aim for a spot in the city park between the pool and the basketball court.
Previously, the three main locations deemed feasible by the committee were the city park, downtown, which would require donated or land that is purchased, and the tennis court area behind the school.
“The vote went way, way in the majority for the city park,” said Flansburg.
He cited the reasons as being close to parking, a road and bathrooms, and it being visible to the public and law enforcement.
“It is an area of useful activity already,” said Flansburg.
On June 25, Flansburg appeared before the Palouse City Council to present his request to build the skate park at the location in Hayton Greene Park.
The council listened and concerns were brought up regarding how much space the skate park would take away from events like the annual car show. Another matter raised was foot traffic patterns in the park.
“There are times when every inch of that park is used for things,” Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove told the Gazette. “It is valid. There’s certainly multiple sides of this issue.”
Echanove cited questions to be answered about the proposed skate park location, which have to do with potential water issues in the spring, whether there are underground hazards at the site or utility matters.
“Our group likes this spot because its in the center of the youthful activity in the park,” said Flansburg, citing a natural divide between the quieter west side of the park and the east side with the pool and basketball court.
Flansburg held a public meeting Monday night at the proposed site to gather input and answer questions. He said he will also be at the Palouse Ice Cream Social on Sunday to gather more feedback and signatures of support.
“Once the location’s determined, there are people who are waiting to donate until they know where the location is,” said Flansburg. “Having the spot pinned down makes the park less theoretical and more an inevitable reality.”
“It’s a process,” said Echanove. “What’s unique about this is that an individual wishes to build the park and donate it back to the city. It’s a new way of constructing something of this magnitude.”
Last Friday, June 28, Flansburg put out flags to mark the approximately 70x70-foot area the park would take up, on the southwest side of the pool toward the basketball court. The total area is about 5,000 square feet, he said. The city council granted him permission to put out the flags.
“That’s a really arbitrary number,” Flansburg said about the square footage.
He and the skate park committee’s plan is to build the park in stages. Phase 1 would involve getting concrete down, with concrete pours which would not require a contractor.
“Phase I I’d like to see completed without outside grant money,” Flansburg said, citing the $5,600 the group has raised from donations and fundraising.
In May, while exploring the option of the skate park being built by the tennis courts behind the school, the city council heard feedback from residents who live across from the courts. Wade and Pam Brantner appeared at a council meeting May 14 to address their concerns about noise.
“The things that they talked about were well-informed and well-researched,” said Flansburg. “Basically all of the points they brought up were valid. They were concerns that anybody would have.”
He also said while the tennis court site potentially offered more space, it was isolated and less visible.
Overall, Flansburg hopes to have a site approved by July 9, when the city council meets again.
From there, Flansburg said his group will resume fundraising, including discussing whether to take over one of the haunted houses at Haunted Palouse this year.
“We’ve been putting off fundraising while pursuing locations,” he said.
If the Hayton Green Park location is approved, Flansburg said it brings up another issue to be sorted out.
“The real burden on the city is not going to be financial. It’s a nominal insurance change, but it adds to the city park staff which is already over-stretched.”
Flansburg has long said that people who use the skate park will be tasked with keeping it clean. Nonetheless, he estimates two more city park garbage cans will need to be monitored along with increased traffic to the restrooms.
“I wouldn’t expect it to be a whole lot different from the basketball court,” Flansburg said.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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